Moroccan-Spiced Carrot & Chickpea Salad
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Spice up your mealtime with this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad—a satisfying, no-fuss dish that offers a deliciously unique twist on the classic carrot-raisin salad.
Packed with fragrant spices, vibrant colors, and a perfect mix of sweet and savory flavors, this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad is a feast for the senses. It puts a unique spin on the classic carrot-raisin salad. And the best part? You don’t need any hard-to-find ingredients to make it. Everything that makes it special is probably already on hand in your kitchen.
Pair the salad with my grilled Moroccan chicken, grilled Moroccan meatballs, or perhaps with my butternut squash and sweet potato soup for a lighter meal. It’s also perfectly satisfying on its own—just right for a pack-and-go lunch or those quiet nights when you’re dining solo and don’t want to fuss with a whole meal.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Moroccan-Spiced Carrot & Chickpea Salad
The list of ingredients looks long but, as you can see, it’s mostly just a lot of spices. If you have a food processor, this is a good time to use it. If not, you can shred the carrots by hand or buy them already shredded and bagged from the supermarket.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), combine all of the ingredients for the dressing.
Whisk to combine.
Next, toast the almonds. Simply place them on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up and bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly golden. Keep a close eye on them; they go from perfectly golden to burnt very quickly!
Next, add all of the salad ingredients to the bowl with the dressing.
Toss well, then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, but preferably several hours. The salad tastes infinitely better cold, especially once the flavors have had a chance to marry.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then serve cold. Enjoy!
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Moroccan Carrot & Chickpea Salad
Spice up your mealtime with this Moroccan-spiced carrot and chickpea salad—a satisfying, no-fuss dish that offers a deliciously unique twist on the classic carrot-raisin salad.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, from one large lemon
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, from one large orange
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Salad
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
- ⅓ cup currants
- ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted (see note below)
- ½ cup chopped fresh mint or cilantro (or a combination), plus more for serving
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallots, from one large shallot
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
- In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
- To the dressing, add all of the ingredients for the salad and toss well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (you might need more salt, lemon or honey, depending on the sweetness of the carrots). Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh chopped herbs. Serve cold.
- Note: To toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the almonds are golden.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 312
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Sugar: 19g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 8g
- Sodium: 522mg
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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The carrot salad is a flavor EXPLOSION! Quick to prepare and delicious beyond belief. I highly recommend and thank you once again.
I have made this salad several times since it is such a crowd pleaser! However be aware it takes some time and muscle to shred all of the carrots – if you are like me and do not have a food processor – but I do it anyway since I like the freshness from the whole carrots. I have used craisins instead of the currants just because I had them on hand and love the taste!
This salad was delicious and fresh tasting! My family all enjoyed it very much. I served it with grilled chicken and a couscous salad. Can’t wait to make it for friends!!
This is such a fantastic salad I wish I could give it more than 5 stars! Everything about it is wonderful–the perfect combo of taste and texture, spiciness, and sweetness.
Awesome. My only regret is I took it to my daughter’s house to have dinner there and left her all the leftovers. Luckily it’s easy to make and I’ll have it again soon! Love this!!
This recipe deserves 6 stars! I suspected that this recipe would be good (what’s not to love about carrots and chickpeas), but the citrus dressing, the fabulous blend of spices and the currants (I used raisins) and toasted almonds just knock it out of the park! We served this salad with some grilled chicken thighs and your perfect Basmati rice – we love, love, LOVED it! Thank you, Jenn.
This is not only delicious but gluten free and great for vegetarians too. It’s going in to regular rotation at our house especially in winter when the usual sumner salad ingredients are not readily available. Great pop of color. Easy to get ingredients.
If you’re wondering if you should make this recipe, the answer is YES! Immediately! It was so delicious and incredibly flavorful – each bite had sweetness, spiciness, crunch and nuttiness. Absolutely delicious. I found myself standing at the counter eating bite after bite when I had meant to just taste it before it chilled for a while. I found this salad to be best the day I made it and still very good the next day. After that it may get a little soggy, but still tasted good. I also used orange, purple and white carrots when I made it and the colors were gorgeous together. This one will now be a staple at our house!!!
Love the idea for the different color carrots, Christine. Thanks!
This is an incredibly flavorful dish…bursting in your mouth.
If it’s anything like your carrot slaw I’m sure this’ll be incredible. I recently made several of your dishes for an anniversary party & the food was a hit. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes! 🙂
Is there anything I could substitute for the currants?
Thanks in advance for your time. We love your recipes at my house!! 🙂
Hi Ashlea, You can use any dried fruit that you like or just leave them out.
Hi I am in the process of making this recipe and I have a question, is it possible to use 0% Greek yogurt instead of olive oil? I am trying to make it low fat ??
Hi Johanna, I suspect it will work, but it will have a different taste and texture. You may want to add a bit more orange juice to thin out the dressing a little; it will also help to reduce the tartness the yogurt will add. Please LMK how it turns out!